This Girl Was An Eagles Cheerleader, Now She’s With A Special Ops Combat Unit In Afghanistan

NOTE: This post was originally published on December 20th, but it’s one of my favorite stories of the year, and I felt it deserved a New Year’s day re-publish. Enjoy, if you haven’t already. And if you have already enjoyed it, re-enjoy the slideshow. There is plenty of re-enjoyment to be had.

Stories like this are the lifeblood of the blogosphere. They’re the lifeblood of America. Rachel Washburn used to be an NFL cheerleader for the Philadelphia Eagles. Now, she’s “an Army intelligence officer with a special ops combat unit in Afghanistan.”

Boom.

She was a pioneer in a special mission to relate to local women in ways that would be culturally inappropriate for male troops — including helping deliver an Afghan baby in a snowstorm. Washburn, 25, who recently returned from her second tour in Afghanistan, will be honored Sunday night as a “Hometown Hero” by the Eagles at their home game against the Chicago Bears.

She must’ve just been cheering, been like “fuck this,” and joined the Army on a whim.

She didn’t join the Army on a whim.

Fuck, never mind.

Supposeduly her dad was in the army and Air Force, and she went to Drexel. She won lots of awards there. She’s cool. She is the inspiration for this slideshow. A big thanks to Barstool for the photos.